Our mission

At JBC we are intentional in carrying out the Great Commission in our young adults’ ministry. The years of young adulthood are crucial in the formation of character, and we want to be purposeful under God’s providence to cement the character of Christ in their hearts. For when they go off to college we want to set them up for success in that chapter of their lives. Their youth group plays a vital role to that end.

We accomplish the Great Commission in the lives of our young adults by teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded. This teaching is provided by our youth pastor, Matt Harkey, who prepares relevant messages from God's Word to teach every Wednesday.

We also fulfill the mission of Christ by training adult leaders to be disciple-making disciples of Christ in the youth group. This takes the form of Wednesday D-groups (Discipleship Groups) where adult leaders meet with their disciples at the end of youth group to discuss the lesson, pray for one another, and plan for outreach projects. There are two outreach projects per year. And bi-annually a month is designated as Youth Outreach Month where, each Sunday of that month, D-groups will have a chance to share with the church during announcements how God has used them in their projects to fulfill the Great Commission that semester.

our meeting

All young adults between the ages of 13-18 years of age or in 7th—12th grades are welcome to join us. We meet on Wednesdays from 6:30pm-8:00pm at the church building for a time of fun, teaching from God's Word, and D-groups.

Our Partnership

We believe these goals of our student ministry are accomplished in partnership with parents. The Bible shows that the primary responsibility of the discipleship of children falls on parents. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 sets a precedent for the parents’ discipleship of their children: “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on you heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” The New Testament echoes this responsibility: “Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Since there is such a high priority placed on parents as primary shepherds in their children’s lives, we view our role in the youth ministry as a partnership in the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry (cf. Ephesians 4:11).